


Lisa's Cold

by AnimatedAaron



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Comedy, Common Cold, Family Fluff, Funny, Gen, science talk, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:04:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimatedAaron/pseuds/AnimatedAaron
Summary: Rita Loud doesn’t speak much to her daughter Lisa. However, she gets the chance to bond some more with her. It may be because of Lisa’s cold, but it’s something.  (Commissioned)





	Lisa's Cold

The Loud House is notorious in the neighborhood for taking the name very literal. Having 11 kids under one roof will do that. Out of all the girls, the second to youngest child, Lisa, wasn’t one of the loud ones in the Loud family. She’s actually very stoic and her tone rarely increases in volume. She’ll yell when frustrated with one of her many science experiments; or if one of her sisters is distracting her from one of her many science experiments. But, she understand the importance of a cool head. A cynical remark is all she’ll usually let out.

Today, she was letting out a large quantity of noises. Ones that caught her mother’s attention as she was passing by her room. 

“Achoo!” 

“Bless you.” Rita called through the door. She didn’t think too much of it. 

“Thank you.” Lisa responded with a lateral lisp. Rita Loud took two steps before again hearing an, “Achoo! *Sniff!”

“Gesundheit.” Rita said. This time, there was a little concern in her voice. 

“Danke.” Lisa called back.

“…Uh.” 

“It means ‘Thank you’ in German.” 

“Oh! Okay.” Rita replied. 

Lisa let a third “Achoo!” slip. Rita finally retook those two steps and knocked on the door. 

“Sweetie? Are you okay in there?” she asked. Lisa could be heard sniffing loudly and exhaling with great difficulty. 

“Just a minor acute viral rhinopharyngitis.” Lisa didn’t get any sort of response from her mother over the next couple of seconds. She could’ve sworn there was even another subtle ‘uh’. “It’s a common cold. I’ll be rid of it in two days.” 

Rita lightly gasped. One of her children was sick? 

“Oh dear. I’ll make you some chicken noodle soup.”

“No thank you.” Lisa informed, “Its best if I let my immune system battle the foreign bacteria in my body. This way, I’ll never get this specific type of disease again. It won’t leave me immobile. Thus! It will make me stronger! ACHOO!”

Rita leaned against the wall next to the door. She didn’t want to just barge in and demand things of her children. Not unless they were in the wrong to begin with. Lisa wasn’t a trouble maker. She isn’t saying these things to be rude or demean her mother. But it felt that way.

“Lisa.” Rita rubbed her arm. “If you want to wait it out, I understand. But just know that I’m willing to help you if you want.” Rita’s voice almost cracked, but she kept it in. “I am your mother after all. That’s kind of my job.”

Lisa’s eyebrows shot up and then sank back down along with her expression. A sigh was audible from where Rita was. 

“It seems as if I’ve made a communications error.” The young girl said to herself.

“What was that dear?” the mother asked.

Four second of silence followed. Suddenly, Lisa opened the door looking up at her mother for the first time today.

“Do you need assistance with cooking *sniff* the ‘chicken noodle soup’? Or is the brand that comes from a can?” Lisa asked. 

Rita smiled, “It’s the type from a can.”

Lisa bragged, “I built a can opener that removes the top without cutting through the cylinder last week. No risk of accidentally cutting your finger on either the razor that opens the can or the recently opened lid.” 

Rita was more than pleased to ask, “May I use it please?”

“Of course…*sniff*!” 

!

The device was as Lisa said. It encased the can in an even larger cylinder. Three seconds and one loud noise later, pop! The top was off and the soup was ready to be cooked. 

“Where do you get the materials to make these things?” Rita asked. 

“The university funds my projects.” The followed sniff indicated mucus. “I believe dad signs the ‘Parental-Supervisory’ for the, Achoo! Checks.”

“I mean, where did you get this?” Rita looked at the sleek metal design and gears to raise and lower the cover. “The metal and polish and…wires?”

“Wires?” Lisa repeated. There was a laughing fit caused by the word. “I use a,” the Loud daughter halted. The last two times she used scientific terms or foreign language ended with her mother struggling to process her statements. She wasn’t so sick that she couldn’t see what would happen if she got into the specifics of how the device was built. 

“I use a small motor and an intricate clockwork system. It’s actually quite simple. The design of the can opener was what I struggled with.” Lisa concluded. 

Rita poured the contents into a bowl and filled it with water. 

“Really? I can’t imagine you struggling with anything.” 

Lisa took the opportunity to provide some self-reflection. 

“As it turns out, I do struggle to come up with new formulas from scratch. It’s fun, but the writing process is a tad off putting.”

Rita started the microwave, “Is that so?” There wasn’t much she could add other than an ear to listen. 

“Yes. I also find myself at odds with asking for help.” The two looked at one another. “It slips my mind that I can easily ask for assistance from my siblings or better yet my parents.” Lisa whipped her nose wanting to be as clear as possible. “I’m going to try and work on that.”

Rita felt a little teary eyed hearing that. She took a knee and opened her arms, inviting Lisa in. Obviously rising getting her own mother sick, the child accepted the hug. 

“I love you Lisa.”

“I *sniff* love you too mom.” 

DING! 

“Ready for your noodles?” Rita asked.

“Certainly.” 

!

Back in Lisa’s room, the time of day had become the time of night. Usually, Lisa’s bedtime was a little later. But that runny nose and sore throat pushed it to an earlier time. Just when she was so close to formulating a test version of cold remedy. How ungainly was that? 

“You need anything else honey?” Rita asked tucking her into bed. 

“Lily will most likely catch my sickness if she stays in here with me until tomorrow morning.” The baby rolled side to side in her crib blissfully unaware of what was going on. 

“No problem.” Rita said. Picking her youngest up, she headed for the door. “Goodnight Lisa.” 

“Goodnight mom.” 

Just a little, the door was kept open. 

END


End file.
